ARTICLES LIBRARY | OUR ANIMAL KINGDOM

Be cautious in our wild animal kingdom. When you see an animal from a distance, that’s close enough. Don’t get closer. Most animals see, hear and smell us long before we see them. They size us up. Depending on how we act, they decide whether to stay, defend themselves or flee. The ultimate wildlife-watching experience is to view animals without interrupting their normal activities.

Never intentionally feed any wild animals to attract them to your yard for viewing. Feeding animals is unlawful ($50 fine). Animals fed by people become beggars. Beggar animals often stay near homes and roads where cars hit them, or they become dependent on humans, lose their ability to hunt and die in the winter.

Drive carefully through wildlife areas. Bears and foxes will often be seen by the roadside or even on the road. Elk, deer and bighorn sheep seldom travel alone. If one animal crosses the road, others are sure to follow.

At night you will hear the song of the mountain coyotes. It often starts with a series of short barks followed by a long mournful howl. The song is a means of calling and signaling others, especially while hunting. Two or three coyotes can often sound like twenty.

Moose behavior is most unpredictable. Moose attacks on people are rare but they do happen. Walk out of your way to avoid moose. Respect a wild animal that stands six feet tall, can weigh half a ton and has sharp hoofs and big antlers, not to mention a really mean disposition. Moose have been known to charge at cars. If you are on foot, move away quietly. Control your dogs, which to moose look like their enemy, the wolf.

Watch for Rocky Mountain big horn sheep eating close to the highways. Rain and runoff from snowmelt washes salt and calcium into the weeds by the side of the road which attracts the sheep.

Keep an eye on your small pets. Owls, eagles and osprey can be a threat to small dogs and cats.

Porcupines are everywhere. If your dog gets “quilled” do not cut the ends off the quills. Contact your veterinarian for help.

Ticks live in Grand County and can cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever. If your dog gets ticks, use a flea and tick bath, powder or spray, or check with your veterinarian about treatments.

Grand County does not have poisonous snakes, poison oak or poison ivy.

Take precautions. Avoid encounters with unwanted visitors.

Do not leave pet food or dishes outdoors at night. Animals and birds love pet food.

Clean and store outdoor grills after use. Sticky barbecue sauce and grease can attract wild animals to your yard.

Keep garbage in airtight containers inside your garage or storage area. Clean trashcans occasionally with ammonia or bleach to reduce odors that attract bears and other animals.

Place garbage containers outside for pickup just before collection, not the night before.

Do not place meat or sweet food scraps in a compost pile.

Use a bear-proof dumpster. If not available, ask your trash-removal company for options. Bears are generally shy and usually avoid humans, but their need for food and sense of smell often draws them to human residences. Bear-proof your property by removing any of the attractions bears might consider food sources. A new regulation requires residents and businesses to remove trash and other bear attractants. There is a fine for failure to do so.

Open Range
Colorado has an open-range law. This means that if you do not want cattle, sheep or other livestock on your property, it is your responsibility to fence them out. It is not the responsibility of the rancher to keep his livestock off your property.

For the Birds

The true joy of mountain bird watching is the arrival of the tiny hummingbirds in late May, signaling that summer is on the way.

Resident birds, being sensible, wait until June to reestablish themselves at their favorite habitat. Steller’s jays and pygmy nuthatches can be found in the ponderosa forests, Clark’s nutcrackers in cone-bearing pines, mountain chickadees and yellow-rumped warblers in the spruce forests, mountain bluebirds in meadows, American dippers along the streams. The dark-eyed juncos are everywhere. California gulls are common at Shadow Mountain Reservoir and Lake Granby and, if you are really lucky, you might see a white-tailed ptarmigan in Rocky Mountain National Park. The osprey are a bird of prey and have protected nest sights on Lake Granby and Shadow and Shadow Mountain reservoir. Bald Eagles may be seen along the Colorado river between Hot Sulphur Springs and Kremmling and in Grand Lake.

Feed the Birds
To truly enjoy the wide range of bird life in the mountains, install a feeding station near your mountain home. Many of our feathered friends will come to you. If unwanted critters are getting into you feeder you should remove it.

Tame Pet Tips
In most areas of Grand County there are no leash laws. Remember that wildlife can spook your pet or your pet can spook wildlife and become prey. A dog running loose is either going to scare something or scare up something.

Provide your pets with lots of water. Although streams appear clean, many contain giardia that can cause severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration. Giardia is difficult to cure. Your vet can give your pet a shot to help prevent giardia. Heartworm disease is low in Grand County.

Like humans, pets should be given time to adjust to the thinner air. Pay attention to how your pets are doing – tired, thirsty, breathing hard or, worse, disoriented. Be especially aware of older pets that could have heart disease (known or unknown), which can get pushed into heart failure by coming to this high altitude.

Don’t smile at any dog that you feel may be dangerous. To dogs, that smile, with the showing of your teeth, can be a sign of aggression.